WRPG745

I’m writing to suggest creating lower cost ways to support this site.  I would gladly pay $20 per year.  I think you might get more subscribers at that level, even without the benefits that a $50 subscriber receives.  To me, $50 is just too much, a psychological hurdle, but I would like to help.

The answer is still no. 

Well you sure seem on the ball… don’t let anyone talk you into throwing in the towel. ?Cheers and welcome ?

I see a couple different ones that might work for me. Thanks for the link.

you might consider a bracket like the ones at Valley Enterprises: https://www.valley-ent.com/store/brackets
I didn't see Bronco specifically, but perhaps one of the F150 mounts would work? might be worth the call...
good luck!

you might consider a bracket like the ones at Valley Enterprises: https://www.valley-ent.com/store/brackets
I didn't see Bronco specifically, but perhaps one of the F150 mounts would work? might be worth the call...
good luck!

Thanks.   Most people generally want to follow rules that are reasonable and rational.   
For example, "this product may cause cancer in California".   
A warning sticker is cheaper than playing the certification pirates' shakedown game.
Other certifications may not be a scams to protect big business from competition or generate revenue.  

People might be more inclined to be good neighbors if they were told about "spurious emissions" instead of "part 95e".   

Perhaps there is a YouTube channel that demonstrates how Baofeng is ruining the bands... and not just speculation about potential harm.   

Other hobbies also cultivate elite fanatics that despise cheap functional versions.
Also some hams seem so afraid of an Eternal September... they nearly killed their hobby.
Maybe Baofeng is the next America Online floppy.  

There are more E. coli outbreaks caused by USDA-certified facilities than Amish farms.

Can you please expand on this statement?  I have several, and have used them at altitudes from 30 - 3000 feet (mostly listening for satellites), and have never experienced anything I would remotely classify as "going bonkers".  Are you saying they can receive more signals at altitude?  And if so, why wouldn't that be expected?

Whether that’s true or not, the purpose of this post was not to discuss the cost/benefit ratio of Ed Fong antennas, but to invite folks to attend a zoom presentation by Dr. Fong. Although I’m not the OP, I think we should respect the original poster’s hospitality. 

Not only is the license easier to get, but that one license covers your entire extended family. No other licensed service has such licensing. 

Thank you very much. I will try this. Thanks for replying.

Hi BKLIPP,
I am sure one of the actual experts will chime in on this soon. You might consider creating your own thread about "Btech 50x1"  to get better responses.
I use a BTech UV5X3 handheld and my manual has pretty good instructions for editing tones manually, yours is probably similar. one thing to do is press "menu" after each and every action as confirmation (this got me tripped up for a while).
CHIRP should be easier because your can edit a spreadsheet vs navigating menus. Where you able to connect to and clone your radio in CHIRP?
Perhaps that was a USB driver issue? Once you connect and clone, you'll just need the correct input/output tones for the repeater.
Good Luck!

https://www.miklor.com/COM/UV_CHIRP.php
 

The 50x1 should have the 30 base channels (22 simplex +8 repeater) programmed already, with the repeater channels already being programmed with the appropriate offsets.  Computer programming is good if you want to add some extra receive channels, but not really necessary for basic use.
The main 2 steps you need for repeater access is making sure you're on the appropriate repeater channel for the frequency of the repeater, hit the menu key (either on the mic or on the radio), scroll to "t-ctcss" or "t-dcs" as appropriate, hit the menu button, and scroll to the correct tone. Hit menu again to confirm, then hit exit to get out of the menu.
That should be all that's needed, assuming the repeater info is accurate, it's online, and within range. Sometimes the range they talk out isn't the same as what they can hear you trying to get in.

Contrary to common beliefs, once you step away from the keyboard and ignore the internet, you will find a vast number of Hams are GMRS operators and vice versa. In the hobby portions and in the community service areas, GMRS and Ham not only coexist, but work together with great success. At least when I have been for the last 20+ years.
 
Now, there may be some individuals who don't play nice and use GMRS v Ham as an excuse to show their behinds... but that is a "them problem".

Well, after about 10 trips up to the roof and then back down to my office to check SWRs, I have the Diamond X50NA about as dialed in as I will ever get it. 
My SWR on 467 channels was the hardest part to get right. For whatever reason, that frequency is really finicky on this antenna (with a metal roof). I started by just re-mounting the antenna the way it should be, at the top of the mast with the ground radials. 70cm and 2m frequencies where fine. 467 was 3.9 SWR. I took the radials off and it dropped to 2.9. Better but not good. 
After re-positioning, moving it up and down and doing anything else I could think of, I finally found out what caused the high SWR. The mounting brackets for the antenna. I decided to move the upper mounting bracket down a few inches, away from where the antenna starts, and the SWR dropped to 1.8 on 467 and was still good on the other bands. I moved it down another inch and was able to get the SWR to 1.6. Still good on the other bands. 
That's when I tightened everything up, came down and tested the receive. It worked great. Not sure what was going on with the previous position I had it in, but it's all working great now. The metal roof does complicate things, but with enough determination, it works. Time to leave it alone.

For GMRS I used a Tram 1187 (450-470).  Required no trimming at all for low VSWR

I don't recall the specific one I'm using for the dual band ham rig, might be a Tram 1191 (or similar).  It took some serious trimming just to get the VSWR down on 440-450 which is why I would not use it on GMRS.   VHF was fine.

Again, both antennas a doing a pretty good job so far.

I's just put an NMO on the roof with a 1/4 wave for UHF GMRS. Thats 6" tall and will take a ton of abuse. I run 2 1/4 wave on the roof and go thru car washes and parking garages every week. Never an issue. Put the 2M antenna on the fender if needed. I run mine on a NMO on the roof but jsut pop it off if i need a car wash. 

Glad to help! Yeah, getting ground will be easier on mine, as I don't have any plastic trim in the way. It would also help that my tie down anchors are the single bolt/rubber block type, so I could basically use a piece of flat steel with 2 holes (1 for the nmo, 1 for the bolt). 
On antennas, I wonder if there's a good 2m/1.25m antenna out there. I remember from HCCFCA's thread, Marcspaz posted a Tram 1/4 wave with a nice wide bandwidth that would cover both 70cm and gmrs...at ~6" it's short enough be unlikely to be a height issue, even on the roof,  has minimal surface for a car wash to get ahold of, and leaves space elsewhere for a 2nd....if you wanted to go that route.

lol, yes "least worst" indeed!
for the stake hole bracket, I'm tracking with you... Ive got a tie down point in there now and would hate to lose that. Customizing it could work, especially to get ground below the plastic trim. option 1 is still looking "best".
I may be looking for a snipe with my antenna request. I can easily give up 1.25m. I'll probably switch out antennas and radios when needed.
appreciate the tip on the Tram 1181 and Comet 2x4sr!
I do like the look of glass mount, very sanitary. Do you recall which antenna you used?
I could always do what HCCFCA did in his Ferrari and go all suction cuppy!
appreciate the feedback!
I'm not doing anything for a few weeks so keep the comments coming, thanks!

I definitely feel your pain...

FWIW, I had a similar situation with our SUV, as there just were not a lot of options (especially with a full "panoramic sunroof"). 

In our case we ended up using glass mount antennas.  The downside to these are that you are unlikely to find one that works well with both Ham and GMRS, particularly at UHF.  We ended up with a dual band for the ham rig and a UHF/commercial for GMRS.   So far both are working out well in their respective services.  If there is any issue with them, it is they are somewhat directional not being more centered on the vehicle.  That however, only becomes an issue in poor coverage areas.

I would normally have suggested a roof/through hole mount, but that doesn't meet your stated requirements. 

I too have issues with garage clearance, even with the glass mounts (~26-28" lengths) which just clip the door going in and out. Just ever so slightly and so I'm not worried about damage to the garage door or the antenna(s).

Just one opinion/thoughts/experience...

Imo, I agree with #1 as the least worst option. One alternative, though I don't know how viable...ive thought about the possibility of using a flat bracket held on by the stake hole anchor, but the viability may depend on the type of anchor (I have the eye bolt/rubber block type).
Antenna wise, the tram 1181  is rated for 130-170 and 430-470, and tested out no higher than 1.3 in 2m, 70cm, and gmrs, as far as I saw, though I was finding the lower gain not quite enough behind a lower power radio. If you don't mind folding for garages, the comet 2x4sr is another with wide coverage, and I had good results with it; I added the spring kit and ran it on the roof with a mag mount, but it's ~36" long, so an issue for parking garages...might be workable on the fender mount. The tram is a bit shorter (18.9" per Amazon), and wouldn't be a height issue on the fender.
All that said, I don't see a way to work 1.25m in, but I just barely added that to my shack (in the form of a handheld) so haven't dug much on or tested any options there yet.

I'm going to use a Tram 1191 on the left rear window of my Discovery to work both VHF and UHF frequencies.

I've done some searching but not a bunch of info out there, mostly "just put it on the roof".  I know fender mount is far from ideal, and realize that I'm trying get best results from worst option, but with all the gear I'm planning for the roof on my Land Cruiser its not practical to roof mount antenna.  
What have people done with success for fender placed GMRS antennas on SUV?  Going to be running the new KG XS20G.
Advise, warnings, opinions, tips, rumors all welcome!  TIA